In maps: The latest on Russia's invasion of Ukraine

NEW DELHI: Nearly a month into its invasion,

Russia

's initial aim of an easy change in government in Kyiv is long gone. While the Russian military still has a strong hand, President Vladimir Putin's forces are now resorting to long-range missiles and other weapons to bombard cities from afar.

Here's what you need to know about the invasion ...
The four axes of war

— Kyiv axis: Russia's advance aims to encircle the capital from the northwest, west and east. The Russian military is slowly closing in on the city and the shelling has intensified.

—

Kharkiv

axis: Although under siege, Kharkiv has not yet fallen to Russian forces because of successful local Ukrainian counterattacks.

— Donbas axis: Russian forces and pro-Russian separatists have been advancing for complete control of Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts, but have not yet succeeded.

— Crimea axis: Russian forces appear to be encircling Mykolayiv from the east. If secured, Russia’s next strategic move may be towards the historic city of Odessa.

The refugee crisis

About 3.3 million Ukrainians have fled to various EU countries since the start of the war. The European Union estimates that about half of them are children.

The ongoing struggle in Mariupol has become a focal point of Russia's assault on Ukraine.

Hundreds of thousands of civilians are suffering through Russian bombardments laying waste to their besieged city.

Mariupol authorities have said only about 10% of the city's population of 430,000 has managed to flee over the past week. The Mariupol City Council has asserted that several thousand residents were taken into Russia against their will.

Atomic worries

Earlier this month, Russian forces seized the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in eastern Ukraine, the largest nuclear plant in Europe, after a building at the complex was set ablaze during intense fighting with Ukrainian defenders.

Fears of a potential nuclear disaster at the plant had spread alarm across world capitals before authorities said the fire in a building identified as a training centre had been extinguished.

The US Embassy in Ukraine called the Russian assault on the Zaporizhzhia plant a “war crime.” Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said it showed how reckless the Russian invasion has been.

In another worrying development, Ukraine's nuclear regulatory agency said radiation monitors around the decommissioned Chernobyl power plant, the site in 1986 of the world's worst nuclear meltdown, have stopped working. Russian forces had captured the plant at the beginning of their invasion.

David vs Goliath

Ukraine started bolstering its defence spending since the annexation of Crimea in 2014. Western military aid, including supplies of US Javelin anti-tank missiles and Turkish drones, further boosted its armed forces.

Despite this, Ukraine is no way near as powerful militarily as its neighbour.

According to SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, Russia is the 8th largest military spender in the world while Ukraine is at the 40th position.

Ukraine’s armed forces of more than 200,000 service members, not including the paramilitary, are less than a quarter the size of Russia’s.

Breakaway regions
On February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree recognising two breakaway regions of Ukraine as independent entities, the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR).

Russian-backed separatists in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions - collectively known as the Donbass - broke away from Ukrainian government control in 2014 and proclaimed themselves independent “people’s republics,” until now unrecognised. It was the same year Russia took over an area in southern Ukraine called Crimea.

Ukraine has said it will never recognise Russia's control over Crimea, the independence of the Russian-backed rebel regions of Luhansk and Donetsk or the vast additional territory taken by Russia.

(Maps credit: Reuters)